The Malfoy Chronicles
by cleotheo
Summary: Collection series about the lives of the Malfoy family. Featuring fluff, romance and fun family moments. Lucissa centric with a strong side dose of Dramione.
1. Infatuation

**A/N - This is a collection series based around the Malfoys - and every piece is set in the same universe. Lucius and Narcissa are the central characters, but Draco and Hermione will also play a role in some pieces. In this universe Voldemort will not be an issue (or at least not in later years when Draco is part of the story). Pieces will range from the very beginning of Lucius and Narcissa's romance, throughout their marriage, and up until Draco is an adult with a family of his own. This first piece is the very first part of the story, but other pieces won't be published in chronological order (Mainly because I don't write them in chronological order and sometimes my lovely readers give me some great ideas). If anyone has any ideas for this series, feel free to let me know. But for now, enjoy the first piece in The Malfoy Chronicles.**

* * *

 **Infatuation.**

A teenage Lucius Malfoy stood in front of his full length mirror, making sure he looked his immaculate best. Lucius was due to attend the Parkinsons Christmas party that evening and as always he would have to be looking like the perfect pureblood son he was. With a sigh, Lucius summoned a black ribbon from across the room and tied up his platinum blond hair. Lucius was currently growing his hair, which was now shoulder length, however his father, Abraxas, detested the long hair and he insisted his son tied it up when they were going out.

"But I'll still be the best looking wizard there," Lucius mumbled to himself, flashing a perfect smile to the mirror.

At sixteen, nearly seventeen, Lucius was by far the best looking wizard at Hogwarts. In his sixth year at school, he was already earning himself a reputation with the witches. Of course he only ever went for the beautiful pureblood witches, but there were more than enough of them around in Hogwarts to keep him satisfied.

"Lucius!"

Abraxas's sharp bark jolted Lucius back to the present. Double checking he looked his immaculate best, Lucius slipped his wand into his robes and headed off downstairs in the vast manor he shared with his father. When he arrived downstairs, Abraxas gave him a sharp once over, grimacing slightly at his hair, but eventually saying nothing as he activated the floo network and the two Malfoy wizards headed to the Parkinson place.

The Parkinsons home was large house, albeit not as spectacular as Malfoy Manor, and it was festively decorated in silver and green. Knowing he couldn't just head off to find some of his own friends just yet, Lucius stayed with his father as they greeted the hosts before they began to mingle. For nearly an hour Lucius stayed with his father, playing the perfect son, before Abraxas gave him a subtle nod to let him know he was free for the rest of the evening.

Even away from his father's stern gaze, Lucius knew all eyes would be on him so he was the perfect picture of elegance as he traversed the party, smiling politely at his father's friends and associates as he looked for some friends of his own. Finally, he spotted his closest friend, Rupert Nott, and the son of the host family, Montague Parkinson. Parkinson was a year older than Lucius and Rupert and neither wizard particularly liked him, but his family was part of the pure blood social circles so they had to put up with them.

"Malfoy," Parkinson greeted, bobbing his head in Lucius's direction.

"Parkinson," Lucius replied in a flat voice.

"I'm afraid I can't stand around chatting to you chaps, I've got a date waiting," Parkinson announced with a smug smirk before he turned around and walked off.

Lucius watched the other wizard make his way over the room to where a pug nosed, black haired witch was standing with a miserable pout on her face.

"That's his date?" He asked in disbelief as he turned to his friend.

"It's probably the best Parkinson can do," Rupert laughed. "After all, he's not really a catch himself. He's possibly the most boring wizard on the planet."

"And she looks like the most miserable witch I've ever seen," Lucius remarked, still watching Parkinson and the miserable looking witch he was vainly attempting to flirt with.

"The perfect match then," Rupert replied.

"Indeed," Lucius agreed, moving so his back was to the couple across the room.

Grabbing himself a drink from one of the passing waiters, Lucius caught up with his friend and what he'd been up to over the Christmas break. As Rupert was filling him in on a recent party he'd attended while his family were over in Ireland, Lucius let his eyes wander around the room. Finding the usual suspects, he went to turn his focus back to his friend when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a blonde beauty. Abandoning any pretence of listening to his friend, Lucius openly stared at the blonde witch across the room.

The witch in question had a halo of blonde hair, pinned up on top of her head with small diamonds woven through her locks. Her porcelain skin looked almost illuminous under the chandelier in the ballroom, and her full red lips seemed as though they were begging for Lucius to kiss them. Her deep blue and gold dress was long and flowing, showing off an expanse of creamy white cleavage. Unlike a lot of the other witches, she wasn't burdened down with jewels, she was wearing a simple pair of diamond earrings teamed with a delicate diamond necklace that nestled in the hollow of her throat.

"Now she is my type of witch," Lucius said to Rupert, who had noticed his friend's distraction and had stopped talking.

Following his friend's gaze, Rupert nodded in appreciation. "She does scrub up well, I'll give you that."

"You know her?" Lucius demanded, whirling back to face his friend.

"As do you," Rupert replied with a chuckle as he realised Lucius didn't know who he was eyeing up. "That is Narcissa Black."

"The quiet girl the year below us?" Lucius frowned as he returned his attention to the woman in question.

The Blacks were an old pureblood family and they had three beautiful, but very different, daughters. The eldest, Bellatrix, was a few years older than Lucius, but her reputation proceeded her. Bellatrix was said to be wild and uncontrollable and if the rumours were correct, she'd had more than her fair share of lovers in school. These days she was rumoured to be among Lord Voldemort's followers, and despite being engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange, she was also rumoured to be sleeping with The Dark Lord.

The middle sister, Andromeda, was the black sheep of the family. Andromeda was also older than Lucius, so again everything he knew about her were what the rumours said. Although, it was no rumour that Andromeda had fallen in love with a muggleborn and the second she was old enough, she'd fled her family and married the wizard. Following her actions, the Blacks had publically disowned their middle daughter and she was rarely mentioned in the pureblood social circles anymore.

However, while Lucius knew bits and pieces about Narcissa's sisters, he knew very little about her herself. He knew she was in the year below him at school, and he had vague recollections of seeing her studying quietly in the library. However, his images were of a very plain witch, who didn't draw attention to herself. Unlike the stunner she was this evening, practically drawing every male eye to her as she was far and away the most beautiful witch in the room.

"It looks like she's finally come out of her shell," Lucius remarked.

"And let's guess, you're going to go and help her adjust to the bright lights?" Rupert said with a knowing smirk. He wished he had the confidence with the females that Lucius did, but there was just something rather magnetic about the handsome blond wizard that had witches flocking to him.

"It's the gentlemanly thing to do," Lucius answered, flashing his friend a smirk.

Leaving Rupert to watch him and wish he could do the same, Lucius strode over to where Narcissa was conversing with a couple of other witches. The second one of the girls spotted him approaching the conversation stopped and apart from Narcissa, they all turned into giggling, simpering morons as they waited to see who he would speak to.

"May I have this dance?" He asked Narcissa, focusing entirely on the beautiful blonde and ignoring the disappointed sighs that rose from her friends when they realised it was only Narcissa he had eyes for.

"Of course," Narcissa replied with a smile, although Lucius suspected it was forced rather than genuine.

Not perturbed in the slightest, and convinced he would win Narcissa over with his charm, Lucius took hold of her hand and led her onto the dancefloor. Narcissa fit perfectly into his arms, and Lucius was thrilled to find she was as good of a dancer as him. Even though almost all pureblood witches had dance lessons, Lucius had found that very few of them had natural rhythm. However, Narcissa was the exception and they floated around the floor almost like a professional pair.

"You look very beautiful tonight, Narcissa," Lucius said as they swept around the room.

"Thank you," Narcissa replied quietly, and Lucius could have sworn she blushed subtly at the compliment.

"And you're an amazing dancer," He added with a grin.

"I have a good partner," Narcissa returned, smiling softly up at Lucius.

Lucius was captured by her bright blue eyes, and he was surprised to find nerves pooling in his stomach. Trying to ignore the nerves, Lucius wetted his lips as the song drew to a close. However, before he got a chance to think about giving Narcissa even a peck on the cheek she expertly withdrew from his embrace.

"Thank you for the dance, Lucius."

"Do you want another one?" Lucius blurted, slightly stumbling over his words and mentally kicking himself for being so flustered. He didn't know what it was about Narcissa, but she produced nerves he'd never felt before while dealing with the opposite sex.

"Not tonight," Narcissa replied with a sly smile. "Goodnight, Lucius."

And just like that, Narcissa slipped through the crowds and exited the ballroom. Try as he might, Lucius couldn't find the young witch again so he ended up back with Rupert.

"Blew you out did she?" Rupert laughed. He'd witnessed the way Narcissa had left Lucius standing in the middle of the ballroom, looking like a fish out of water.

"She did not blow me out," Lucius replied, highly affronted by the suggestion. "We danced."

"One song," Rupert pointed out. "It's hardly the beginning of a beautiful relationship, is it?"

"Au contraire, my friend," Lucius replied, a steely look in his grey eyes. "Narcissa Black is the woman I intend to marry. She will be mine, just you wait and see."

"Whatever you say, Lucius," Rupert replied with a roll of his eyes as he turned to grab the attention of the passing waiter.

Lucius wasn't bothered by his friend's scepticism. He was a Malfoy, and as such he was used to getting what he wanted, and what he wanted right now was Narcissa Black. One way or another he would make sure that Narcissa became his. There and then he vowed that Narcissa Black would one day become Narcissa Malfoy.


	2. A Fresh Start

**A/N - First I want to respond to a guest review from Ally. Thank you for the ideas, but for this story everything is sorted. I've already written several pieces and have dozens more planned. However, I thought your ideas were really good and if you don't mind, I'd like to incorporate them into some of my future Lucissa stories - in fact the bit about Abraxas dying is a very similar idea as to something I'm going to feature in this collection.**

 **For this piece I've chosen one that will help explain the universe this story is set in (and the changes that will occur in various pieces) as it's set just after Voldemort is killed. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **A Fresh Start.**

Despite it been two weeks away from Christmas, there was a distinct lack of festive atmosphere in Malfoy Manor. Instead of looking forward to the festive period, there was an air of gloom over the house as they faced losing Lucius. At the end of October, Lord Voldemort had been defeated, and their entire future was now hanging in the balance.

For the last few weeks, Lucius had been doing everything in his power to escape a prison sentence. He'd had numerous meetings with the Ministry, alongside his father, as they tried to ensure that he maintained his freedom. Narcissa was just hoping that the prolonged meetings were a good thing, and would produce the right result. After all, if Lucius was going to end up in Azkaban, surely he would have been arrested and imprisoned weeks ago.

Narcissa was clinging onto the positives as she waited for Lucius to return from yet another trip to the Ministry. However, as she sat cuddling with her eighteen month old son, Draco, Narcissa couldn't help but think about what would happen if the worst happened. She honestly didn't know how she would cope if she lost Lucius, and she hated to think of Draco growing up without his father.

"It has to work out," She whispered to herself. "It just has to."

Fortunately for Narcissa, she didn't have too much longer to wait before her husband and father-in-law returned home. The two wizards arrived via the floo network, and no sooner had they landed than Abraxas stalked off to his study, barely bothering to give Narcissa a nod of acknowledgment. Narcissa didn't know if her father-in-law's departure was a good sign, or if they were still stuck in limbo and had no answers.

"Do we have some answers?" Narcissa asked warily as her husband plucked Draco out of her arms and gave him a hug.

"We do," Lucius replied.

"Don't beat around the bush, Lucius," Narcissa snapped. "Just tell me. Are we going to lose you?"

"I won't be going to Azkaban," Lucius replied as he sat down next to his wife.

"Thank Merlin," Narcissa gasped, throwing her arms around Lucius and embracing him and Draco. "So what happened?"

"They finally agreed that by talking to them honestly and repenting that I deserved a second chance," Lucius answered.

"Really?" Narcissa arched a sceptical eyebrow. "It was that simple?"

"It was far from simple, Cissa," Lucius replied with a sigh. "I've been at the Ministry a couple of times a week for months. I've had my mind probed and my memories thoroughly searched. I've had to prove I'm not a threat to anyone."

"You were never a threat, Lucius," Narcissa said loyally. "You were merely passionate."

"About the dark arts," Lucius countered. "We both know I was a threat, Narcissa. I was seduced by the darkness, and it very nearly consumed me. What would have happened if The Dark Lord hadn't been killed? What would I have done in his name?"

"We don't have to think about that now," Narcissa said, taking hold of Lucius's hand. "We could torture ourselves with what ifs, but it's no way to live."

"Maybe," Lucius conceded. "But it's still all I've thought about for the last few weeks. I've probably done enough to warrant a stay in Azkaban, and I regret every single thing."

"And the Ministry saw that," Narcissa said. "They saw that you're repentant."

"I think what swung it for them was Draco," Lucius said, gently stroking his son's fine blond hair. "They saw that the doubts started once we had him. I think if I'd only just started to have doubts, after he'd fallen, I would be sitting in Azkaban now. But they saw that the doubts had been growing for months, and all the times I'd managed to wangle myself out of getting involved. I just wish I hadn't been stupid enough to get involved in the first place."

"We both know who encouraged you with that," Narcissa said with a frown. It had been Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix, who had introduced Lucius to The Dark Lord and set him on his dark path.

"Speaking of which, your sister was brought in as we were leaving the Ministry. I'm sorry Cissa, but it looks like she'll be going to Azkaban. She was caught alongside her husband and brother-in-law torturing the Longbottoms."

"Are they okay?" Narcissa asked quietly, her eyes falling to Draco. She knew the Longbottoms had a son about Draco's age, and she hated to think of another boy losing their parents as the Potter boy had done so on Halloween night when they'd been killed alongside Voldemort.

"I didn't get details, but it didn't sound good," Lucius admitted gently.

"It's all so horrible," Narcissa sighed. "So much death and destruction, and we played our part. How do we live with ourselves, Lucius?"

"You did nothing," Lucius insisted, squeezing his wife's hand. "This is all on me, Cissa."

"I may not have been one of his Death Eaters, but I stood back and supported you as you did his bidding, that makes me just as bad," Narcissa replied quietly. "We're going to have to live with that every day."

"And we'll do so together," Lucius said. "Things won't be easy, Narcissa, not at first. But we can make this work. We can make amends for the past."

"We don't just make amends, we need to make a whole fresh start," Narcissa announced. "This is the end of the darkness, Lucius. Starting tomorrow we're going to rid this manor of anything dark. Draco will not be exposed to the same darkness we were. We're going to bring him up right. He's not going to dabble in the dark arts, and he'd not going to be fed the beliefs that drew us to the darkness."

"A fresh start," Lucius agreed with a nod. "That's just what this family needs. Not just Draco, but us as well. We're all going to step out of the darkness and leave the negativity behind."

"It won't be easy," Narcissa cautioned. "What we're talking about is an entire overhaul of our lives."

"I don't care," Lucius said with a shake of his head. "I've been given a second chance, we've been given a second chance as a family. By rights, I should be in Azkaban. Let's not waste this opportunity. Let's not give our detractors any ammunition."

"Detractors?" Narcissa frowned.

"There's plenty of people who won't approve I'm still free," Lucius pointed out. "I could name a few just off the top of my head. We need to show them that the Ministry made the right decision in giving me my freedom."

"And we will," Narcissa asserted with a nod. "The Malfoys are turning over a new leaf. This is our second chance, and we won't screw it up."

"No, we won't," Lucius agreed. "And I think the first thing we need to do is get Christmas organised. Draco deserves a good Christmas. He was so young last year, but this year he'll be into everything and I want to give him a day to remember."

"And we will," Narcissa said, dropping a kiss to her son's head before leaning up and pecking her husband on the cheek. "It'll be a Christmas for us all to remember."

Lucius smiled back at his wife, as he leant down and connected their lips in a proper kiss. Only Draco wriggling impatiently in Lucius's arms and letting out a hungry wail disturbed them. Breaking apart they shared a smile, before focusing on their son and their fresh start. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives, and Lucius and Narcissa planned to make it count. They weren't going to spurn the second chance they'd just received.


	3. An Honorary Malfoy

**An Honorary Malfoy.**

Narcissa stood on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, anxiously waiting for the train to pull up and deposit her son for the Christmas holidays. Narcissa had missed Draco like mad since he'd started Hogwarts at the beginning of September, and she couldn't wait to see her son. It may have only been three and a half months since she waved Draco off on his Hogwarts adventure, but to Narcissa it felt like an eternity. At least once Draco was home things would feel normal and she might even be able to get into the festive spirit that she'd been sorely lacking so far this year.

When the bright red train finally started to make its appearance, Narcissa waited patiently, even though she wanted nothing more than to rush forward to try and get a glimpse of her son. After so many years, Narcissa knew how to behave in public and she knew no-one on the platform would ever be able to guess just how excited she was. Even when the train doors started to open and students began to appear, Narcissa remained calm and collected as her eyes darted around for her son.

Finally, Narcissa spotted Draco alighting from the train along with four other boys. One boy she knew was Draco's oldest friend, Theo Nott, while two of the others, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, were the sons of some of Lucius's acquaintances. However, the fourth boy, a cute boy with jet black hair and an olive complexion, was a complete stranger.

Not wanting to embarrass her son, Narcissa remained where she was standing as Draco said goodbye to his friends. As Draco finally made his way towards her, Narcissa watched as the three boys she knew headed over to their parents. However, the mysterious boy seemed rather lost and he just stood on the platform, looking around with a sad expression on his face.

"Hello mother," Draco greeted her formally as he reached her side.

"Draco," Narcissa returned, mirroring her son's formal voice briefly before she broke out into a smile and gave her only son a bone crushing hug. "I've missed you."

"Mother," Draco hissed, his pale face flushing red as he extracted himself from her arms and patted his gelled hair to make sure it was still neat and tidy.

"Some things never change," Narcissa chuckled. Just like Lucius, Draco had a vain streak a mile wide and just like his father, he never left the house without looking immaculate.

"A Malfoy must always look his best," Draco informed his mother, repeating a phrase his father often used.

Narcissa affectionately rolled her eyes at her son as she took hold of his bag. "And how was your first term of school?"

"Not bad," Draco answered. "The dungeons are so cool."

"Cool as in great, or cool as in cold?" Narcissa checked. Personally she'd always found the dungeons ridiculously draughty, but knowing her son he would love the dark and mysterious dungeons where the Slytherins resided at Hogwarts.

"Cool as in great," Draco said, throwing his mother an unimpressed look at the fact she even needed to ask him to clarify what he meant.

"And how about lessons?" Narcissa asked. "Are you coping?"

"Of course," Draco boasted. "I'm the top boy in our year."

"The top boy?" Narcissa questioned, thinking her son's phrasing was odd.

"Yeah," Draco said with a slight grimace. "A girl is beating me, can you believe that?"

"I'm sure she's a very clever girl if she's beating you," Narcissa said diplomatically. She knew her son liked to be the best at everything, but personally she thought it might do him good to have someone challenge him for a change.

"She is, she's incredibly clever," Draco admitted. "But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it," He warned in a low voice.

"My lips are sealed," Narcissa vowed, hiding her smirk as she knew her son wouldn't appreciate being laughed at. Looking up, she suddenly realised the platform was almost empty as they'd been standing around catching up. "Looks like it's time for us to go."

"Yeah," Draco said with a nod.

Narcissa reached out to take her son's arm and apparate him home, but she stopped when she spotted the boy Draco had gotten off the train with, sitting forlornly on one of the benches at the back of the platform.

"Do you know that boy?" Narcissa asked, pointing him out to her son.

"Yeah, that's Blaise Zabini. He's a Slytherin like me," Draco replied. "Hey Blaise." Raising his voice, Draco began to walk over to his friend. "What are you still doing here?"

"I think my Mum is running late," Blaise answered with a shrug. "She'll turn up when she remembers about me."

"She's forgotten about you?" Narcissa asked in disbelief. She didn't know how anyone could just forget to go and pick their son up.

"More than likely," Blaise said, his tone of voice indicating his mother's lateness wasn't exactly surprising to him.

"Well you can't stay here," Narcissa said firmly. "Come home with us and have some dinner. I can contact your mother and she can come and pick you up from our house."

"Really?" Blaise's bright eyes lit up at Narcissa's suggestion, and she had to wonder just how starved for affection the boy was.

"Really," Narcissa confirmed as she swept Blaise's bag into her arms alongside Draco's.

Before either boy had further chance to argue, Narcissa grabbed hold of them both and apparated them back to the manor. When they landed, Narcissa placed both their bags on the floor for the elves to sort, and after getting some contact details off Blaise for his mother, she told Draco to show his friend their house.

"Wow, this place is awesome," Blaise remarked as he and Draco left the floo room.

Narcissa waited until the two boys had left, before she took the details Blaise had given her and connected the floo network. What followed was the most frustrating conversation of Narcissa's life. Blaise's mother answered her floo immediately, but just as quickly it was clear to Narcissa that her son was bottom of her priorities. Blaise's mother claimed that she hadn't arranged for Blaise to come home, and since she was going away for the holidays, he would have to go back to Hogwarts. Narcissa tried to explain that it was too late for that, and that Blaise was with them, but his mother wasn't listening. She had her holiday plans, and she wasn't going to let her son interfere in them.

"Well, I never," Narcissa muttered as she stood back up from the fireplace when Blaise's mother abruptly ended the call.

"Problem, Narcissa?" Lucius asked as he entered the room to find his wife muttering to herself.

"Yes," Narcissa replied. "I don't know if you've seen Draco yet, but he's got a friend with him."

"And that's a problem?" Lucius asked with a frown. Considering Narcissa was worried about Draco making friends when he went off to school, he thought it was strange that she was now worried that he had a friend.

"No, Blaise seems like a lovely boy."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is his mother," Narcissa said, shutting the door so the boys wouldn't accidently sneak up on them. "He was alone at the platform, and he said she would just be running late. I couldn't leave him, so I invited him back for dinner with the intention of his mother picking him up later."

"That all sounds very reasonable," Lucius said.

"That was before I spoke with his mother," Narcissa said. "She's got plans for the holidays, and they don't include Blaise. She pretty much told me to pack him back off up to Hogwarts."

"She's not coming for him?" Lucius checked.

"No," Narcissa answered with a shake of her head. "The poor boy, how do I tell him his mother would rather go away on holiday than spend Christmas with him?"

"It's okay Mrs Malfoy," A soft voice said from the doorway and when Lucius and Narcissa turned round they found Draco and Blaise in the doorway, having quietly opened the door without either of the elder Malfoys realising.

"Blaise, honey, I don't know what to say," Narcissa said softly, feeling immensely sorry for the little boy in front of her. "I tried to talk some sense into your mother, but she was adamant she was going ahead with her plans."

"It's okay," Blaise said with a resigned sigh. "I can just go back up to school."

"You can't spend Christmas at school," Draco protested. "Only the sad kids stayed behind. You'd be all alone in the dungeons."

"I'm used to being alone," Blaise replied with a shrug.

"Well not this Christmas," Narcissa said decisively. "Blaise, you're spending the holidays with us."

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked, his eyes wide with excitement. "I promise I'll be no trouble, Mrs Malfoy."

"If that's true you're not a true Slytherin," Lucius chuckled. "Don't worry about being on your best behaviour Blaise, just have a good time while you're here."

"I will do," Blaise said. "Thank you, Mr Malfoy."

"Blaise, if you're going to stay and you're going to become a regular visitor, it's Lucius and Narcissa, not Mr and Mrs Malfoy," Lucius said. His father would turn over in his grave if he knew Lucius was giving his son's friends permission to address him by his first name, but Lucius didn't want to be the same intimating figure his father had been for his friends, he wanted Draco's friends to feel comfortable and welcome in the manor.

"Sure thing, Lucius," Blaise answered, flashing the Malfoys a grin that was pure trouble.

As the two boys headed off to get Blaise settled into one of the guest rooms, Narcissa and Lucius shared an amused look. Blaise was certainly a character and something told them both that over the years to come their son's friend would become a part of the family. Sure enough, that Christmas was merely the beginning of a beautiful friendship and before long both Lucius and Narcissa looked on Blaise as a second son and an honorary Malfoy.


	4. First Crush

**A/N - This piece takes place before Draco's second year at Hogwarts, and it's the first one to feature a glimpse of Hermione.**

* * *

 **First Crush.**

"Maybe we should do this when you're feeling better," Lucius said to his wife, who was tucked up in bed with a sickness bug.

"Draco goes back to school in just over a week," Narcissa pointed out. "He needs to go and get his school supplies. I'm sure the pair of you can manage to get everything on his list."

Lucius frowned, wanting to argue with his wife, but knowing it would do him no good. The trip to get Draco's school things had been arranged for weeks, and it was just bad timing that Narcissa wasn't well enough to join them on their trip to Diagon Alley. Normally, Lucius wouldn't have complained, but shopping for school things was pretty boring and he knew it was a strong possibility that together he and Draco would get distracted and forget something on the list. However, if Narcissa was there, nothing would be forgotten about as his wife would keep tight control of things.

"What if we forget something?" Lucius asked.

"Then you'll have to make a second trip," Narcissa replied. "Honestly Lucius, I'm fairly sure the pair of you can manage to follow a simple list. Just don't get too distracted by broomsticks and such."

"You mean, ignore the good stuff," Lucius said with a smirk.

"You don't have to ignore it, just don't let it distract you," Narcissa replied. "Remember you're going to Diagon Alley to buy Draco's books and things, not to buy him a new broomstick."

"That can be an added extra," Lucius said. "Maybe with a new broomstick, he can make the quidditch team this year. It would be quite nice for him to follow in my footsteps and one day captain the quidditch team."

"Just don't pressure him, Lucius," Narcissa warned. "If he makes the team and ends up captain one day, then great, but if he doesn't, it doesn't matter."

"Don't worry, there'll be no pressure from me," Lucius promised as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead. "We'll be off then. You get some rest."

"Will do," Narcissa mumbled as she snuggled back down in bed and closed her eyes.

Lucius looked down at his wife with a smile on his face, before heading off to find his son. He found Draco in his room, already dressed and ready to go. He quickly explained it would just be the two of them, and checking that Draco had the list of supplies he needed, he apparated them both to Diagon Alley.

"Let's get the boring bits over with first," Lucius suggested as Draco's eyes immediately wandered over to the quidditch shop. "Do you need new robes?"

"Yes," Draco replied with a grimace. He hated getting fitted for robes, as it was dull and tedious, and involved a lot of standing around.

"Let's go and get them fitted first," Lucius said, placing his hand on Draco's back and guiding him towards Madam Malkin's.

Fortunately there wasn't a queue in the robe shop, and Draco got measured for his new robes fairly quickly. After ordering Draco's robes, which they would pick up at the end of their trip, the two Malfoy wizards left the shop and headed towards the apothecary. At least it was interesting grabbing the ingredients Draco would need for upcoming potions lessons. Then came a trip to stock up on parchment, quills and ink, followed by a trip to the pet shop for Draco to grab a few treats for his owl, Artemis.

"I think books next," Lucius said.

"It's a fairly long list this year," Draco remarked as they made their way over to Flourish and Blotts. "I'm sure we didn't have this many books last year."

"The list will only get longer each year," Lucius warned his son. "They ease you in a bit in first year, but this is where the real hard work starts, Draco."

"I worked hard last year," Draco protested with a pout.

"I know you did, and your mother and I were very pleased with your results," Lucius said, patting Draco on the shoulder. "I'm just saying that each year will require more hard work. We wouldn't want you to start slacking."

"I won't," Draco promised, pulling his list of books from his pocket and handing it to his father.

Lucius scoured the list, and after quickly picking up a few of the books, they headed up to the top floor of the bookshop to continue their shopping. Leaving Draco to find the book he needed for Transfiguration, Lucius headed to the Potions section. Grabbing the books he needed, he made his way back to Draco, to find his son standing at the balcony that overlooked the main body of the shop, very focused on something down below.

Wondering what had captured his son's attention, Lucius moved close enough so that he could also see down to the ground floor. Initially he wasn't sure what Draco was looking at, as all he could see were general shoppers, but as he followed the direction Draco was looking in, he spotted a girl about Draco's age. She had fairly wild, bushy brunette hair, and she seemed absorbed in looking at books about various myths and legends. As Lucius watched she was approached by a redheaded boy who couldn't be anyone other than a Weasley, and a dark haired boy he was fairly sure was Harry Potter. When Lucius looked over at Draco, he found his son's face had transformed into a scowl.

"Problem?" Lucius asked, making his presence known.

"No, I've got my books," Draco answered, holding up the couple of volumes he'd picked up.

"Are they friends of yours down there?" Lucius asked casually, even though he knew they weren't. Draco had said enough for him to know that last year the Potter boy had spurned his offer of friendship, due to the fact he'd already befriended the Weasley boy and clearly Arthur Weasley had passed it onto his children that the Malfoys were bad news.

"Hell no," Draco snorted. "That's Potter and Weasley. I can't stand the idiots."

"And the girl?" Lucius questioned.

"Granger," Draco replied, and Lucius noticed there was less bite in his voice.

"What's she like?" Lucius asked.

"A bit annoying," Draco answered with a shrug, as if he'd never given much thought to what she was like. "She's very clever, but annoying. Plus she's got terrible taste in friends."

"Clever. So she's the top student in your year." Leaning over the railing slightly, Lucius looked down at the girl with more interest. He knew a girl was getting better marks than Draco, something which his son found extremely frustrating, but like Narcissa he was of the opinion that it was good for Draco to have someone challenge him for a change.

"Yes, Granger's the class swot," Draco snapped.

"She's a very pretty girl," Lucius remarked casually.

"No she isn't," Draco protested quickly. "She has hair like a bird's nest."

Lucius smirked slightly at his son's childish insult, and the speed at which he'd denied that she was pretty. If Lucius wasn't very much mistaken, his twelve year old son was starting to notice girls. Of course he was still at the stage where he denied that he liked them, but all too soon he would accept his feelings and before Lucius knew where he was at, his son would be venturing into the world of dating.

"Can we go now?" Draco asked, clearly wanting to get his father away from the subject of girls.

"If we've got everything," Lucius replied, double checking they had indeed got all the books on Draco's list.

Satisfied they had everything, Lucius and Draco headed back downstairs. As they were halfway down the stairs, the Granger girl passed by the bottom of the stairs, and Lucius chuckled to himself as Draco froze when he spotted her, his grey eyes following her until she'd vanished from sight. Not wanting to say anything to embarrass his son, Lucius just carried on as though nothing had happened and once they'd paid for their books, they left the bookshop.

"Shall we go and visit the quidditch shop?" Lucius asked. "I was thinking a new broom could be the perfect way to start your new year at Hogwarts."

"Cool," Draco gushed, his face breaking into a wide grin.

Lucius was slightly more restrained than his son, and he merely lifted the corner of his lips as he followed Draco over to the quidditch store. In the end, Lucius bought Draco a new broom as well as new gloves, a couple of new jerseys and a broomstick cleaning kit.

"Your mother will kill me for spoiling you," Lucius moaned as they exited the quidditch shop.

"You can talk her round, you always can," Draco replied with an unconcerned shrug. He knew his father was quite the charmer, and he'd seen him talk his way out of trouble with his mother on several occasions.

"Even so, let's go home before we get ourselves into any more trouble," Lucius said, steering Draco to the apparition point.

Just as they were preparing to leave, Lucius spotted the girl from the bookshop emerging from the apothecary. Draco had obviously also seen her as his eyes followed her as she strolled along the street and entered the robe shop with the Potter boy.

"Robes," Lucius announced with a snap of his fingers. "We haven't gone and picked them up. Be a good boy Draco, and go and get them."

"You're not coming with me?" Draco asked.

"No, I'll just wait here," Lucius replied. "Go on, you're more than capable of picking up some robes."

Draco threw his father an unimpressed glare, before he skulked across the street and entered the robe shop. Lucius was tempted to follow him and spy through the window to see if his son had the guts to speak to the Granger girl, but he didn't want Draco to catch him and to be embarrassed, so he remained where he was. After a few minutes, Draco emerged from the robe shop, his new robes slung over his arm in protective bags.

"Are you ready?" Lucius asked.

"All done," Draco replied with a nod.

Taking hold of Draco's arm, Lucius double checked they had all the shopping before apparating them back to the manor. Leaving Draco to take his shopping to his room to sort, Lucius immediately headed off to check on Narcissa. He half expected to find his wife sleeping, but she was sitting propped up in bed, a book lying on the bed beside her as though she'd been reading.

"Did you manage?" Narcissa asked her husband as he gave her a kiss and sat down next to her.

"We did," Lucius confirmed. "We have everything on Draco's list."

"And how many extra quidditch bits do you have?" Narcissa asked.

"Not too many," Lucius answered, avoiding telling his wife just how much he'd bought in the quidditch shop.

"Hmm," Narcissa mumbled non-committedly. She might have been laid up, but she wouldn't be forever and it wouldn't take her long to work out just how much new stuff her son now had. "So the trip was a success?"

"It was," Lucius replied with a nod. "We had a good time, and I even discovered that our son has his first crush."

"Crush?" Narcissa frowned. "But he's twelve. He's too young for girls."

"He's still in the denying stage," Lucius confided with a low chuckle. "But he liked her, I could tell."

"Who is this girl?" Narcissa asked.

"The Granger girl, I can't recall her first name," Lucius answered. "You know the little Gryffindor that's beating him in school."

"Ooh, he won't like that," Narcissa said with a small laugh. "No wonder he's denying it. It seems like out little boy is growing up."

"He is," Lucius said with a sigh. "It's strange isn't it? I'm so proud of him, and I can't wait to see what sort of man he becomes, but it's sad that he's no longer a child."

"It's definitely bittersweet," Narcissa agreed. "But it doesn't matter how old he gets, Draco will always be my little boy."


	5. Secret Glances

**Secret Glances.**

Pulling on his travelling cloak, Lucius headed into the living room where his wife was sitting curled up beside a roaring fire with a book in her hands. Spending an afternoon snuggled up with Narcissa appealed to Lucius much more than how he was planning on spending his afternoon, which was at a governors meeting up at Hogwarts.

"I suppose I better be going," he announced with a dramatic sigh.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were dreading this meeting," Narcissa remarked, looking up over the top of her book at her husband.

"I would much rather stay here with you," Lucius replied.

"I'm sure you would, but at the same time you always enjoy your governors meetings," Narcissa countered. "You can't fool me, Lucius. You like going up to Hogwarts and stirring things up for Dumbledore."

"Can you blame me for wanting to rattle the old fool's cage once in a while," Lucius snorted.

"Of course not," Narcissa replied with a small smile. "In your position I would do the same."

Narcissa was not a fan of the headmaster of Hogwarts, and she was often glad that Lucius had a position on the governors so he was able to keep the old man in check. Draco had gone to Hogwarts despite the Malfoys reservations about the headmaster, and even then there'd been a couple of incidents that had made Narcissa question if they'd done the right thing in letting Draco attend their old school. But Draco was happy at Hogwarts, and thankfully Lucius's position as head governor meant that the couple knew pretty much everything that went on in the school.

"It shouldn't be a long meeting," Lucius said as he prepared to leave. "So hopefully I'll be back before you know it."

"Hopefully," Narcissa agreed, giving her husband a peck on the cheek as she sent him on his way to do his duty as head of the Hogwarts governors.

Sometimes Lucius flooed to the school, but on this occasion he chose to apparate to just outside of the grounds. Every once in a while he liked to approach the school from the outside just to check on the outwards appearance and the grounds. As he strode towards the school, Lucius was pleased to see everything seemed just fine with Hogwarts and its grounds.

Entering the school via the main entrance, Lucius made his way to the staff room where the governors meetings always took place. When he entered the room, he found the majority of the governors had already arrived and were sitting around the room drinking cups of tea. In the centre of the room stood the large table where they would sit for the meeting, but no-one was in place and there was no sign of Dumbledore.

"Ah Mr Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said, approaching the blond wizard. "Professor Dumbledore has an emergency he had to deal with so the meeting will be half an hour later in starting. In the meantime, can I get you a cup of tea?"

"No thank you, Professor," Lucius replied. "If the meeting is delayed, I'll use the opportunity to go and visit Severus. There's a few things I wish to discuss with him."

"He is teaching at the moment, Lucius," McGonagall said, frowning at the younger wizard.

"I won't disturb his class," Lucius said with an unconcerned shrug. "I'll be back in time for the meeting, Professor."

Not giving McGonagall a chance to protest further, Lucius turned on his heel and strode across the front hallway to the stairs that led down into the familiar dungeons. Of all of Hogwarts, it was the dungeons that Lucius liked the most and just walking the familiar hallways brought back many happy memories of his time at Hogwarts.

Lucius reached the potions classroom quickly enough and knocking on the door, he poked his head into the room to find his friend was currently teaching the sixth years, which included Draco and Blaise. The class was fairly small as Lucius knew Severus only took the best and brightest into his N.E.W.T classes. It was something Dumbledore had been arguing against for years, but Lucius had always backed his friend's policy, as had the Ministry who were extremely proud by the exam results the policy yielded. Thanks to Severus and his determination only to let the best students take Potions N.E.W.T.S, Hogwarts had the best Potions grades in Europe and were very close to the top of the world rankings among wizarding schools.

Almost everyone in the room turned to watch Lucius as he entered the classroom and made his way to where Severus was standing beside his desk. Lucius threw a quick smile in his son's direction as he approached Severus and greeted his friend.

"Get on with your work," Severus barked to the class as some of them were still watching Lucius in fascination. "I want perfect potions by the time the bell goes."

"Tough as ever, Severus," Lucius said with a low chuckle.

"I expect the best, and I know everyone in this room is capable of delivering it," Severus remarked with a shrug. "So what brings you to my door, Lucius? I thought you had a governors meeting this afternoon."

"Dumbledore's got some sort of emergency, so we're delayed by half an hour," Lucius replied as he and Severus moved so they were standing against the wall of the classroom. "Coming to see you was a more appealing prospect than having a cup of tea with McGonagall."

"And here was me thinking you'd come to check on Draco," Severus chuckled.

"Does he need checking on?" Lucius asked, his grey eyes sweeping over the classroom and falling on his son.

Draco seemed focused on the potion he was making, but as Lucius watched him, he slowly raised his head and glanced to his right. Lucius followed where Draco was looking and he smirked when he spotted a familiar looking pretty, brunette witch. As Lucius watched Draco, he continued to sneak glances over at the Gryffindor witch.

"Do you see what I see?" Lucius asked Severus.

"If you mean Draco watching Miss Granger, then yes, I see it," Severus replied. "It's a regular occurrence."

"For how long?"

"I'm not sure exactly," Severus admitted. "But I think I first noticed it at the end of fourth year."

"He's got it bad, hasn't he?" Lucius remarked, watching as his son continued to sneak longing looks at the brunette witch.

"It would appear so," Severus replied. "Is it a problem? You do know she's a muggleborn."

"I do know that," Lucius replied with a nod of his head. "And no, it's not a problem. It might have been once upon a time, but when The Dark Lord fell, Narcissa and I vowed to raise Draco without the prejudices we grew up with. If he wants to be with a muggleborn, that's his choice. Although, I don't think it will be the Granger girl. She seems rather oblivious to Draco."

"I wouldn't be so sure on that," Severus said with a sly smirk. "Just watch."

Turning his attention back to his son, Lucius watched as Draco continued to sneak glances at Hermione. However, this time Lucius also watched Hermione and he was amazed to find her eyes drifting over towards Draco whenever he'd returned his attention to his potion. It was as if neither of them could help themselves, and at every opportunity they couldn't resist sneaking a peek at one another.

"Now that is interesting," Lucius said, a smirk appearing on his lips.

"It can be quite amusing watching the pair," Severus said. "They seem quite unaware of each other's attentions, and they also seem to think that no-one has noticed the looks they give each other."

"Do they do this at other times?" Lucius asked.

"I've seen it happen all over school," Severus replied. "Just last week Miss Granger was unable to take her eyes off Draco during a quidditch match. She even couldn't help but smile when he caught the snitch."

"They need to speak to each other," Lucius said. "Get this thing out in the open."

"They're both pretty stubborn, Lucius. Getting them to admit their feelings won't be easy," Severus warned.

"No, I don't suppose it will be," Lucius conceded. "But luckily for them, I'm going to give them a helping hand. If my son wants Miss Granger, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he gets her."

"What are you planning on doing, Lucius?" Severus asked, suspecting his friend had a fiendish plan up his sleeve.

"I don't know yet," Lucius admitted. "But I will think of something. Mark my word Severus, before the end of the year, they'll be doing more than sneaking looks at each other across a classroom."

With all sorts of ideas swimming about in his head, Lucius said goodbye to Severus and headed back for his governors meeting. Thankfully, Dumbledore had sorted whatever urgent business had needed his attention and the meeting got underway at its revised time. It was also a short meeting like Lucius had predicted and less than two hours after arriving at Hogwarts, Lucius was leaving again.

When he returned home he filled Narcissa in on what he'd discovered before settling down to come up with a plan to help his son. He was going to play cupid to Draco and Hermione, and he would do whatever it took to bring them together. All he wanted was for his son to be happy, and Lucius strongly suspected that Hermione Granger was the key to his happiness.


	6. A Changed Man

**A/N - This piece goes back to the early days of Lucius and Narcissa.**

* * *

 **A Changed Man.**

Narcissa was sitting in the library, trying to work on her Arithmancy homework, when her peace was shattered by Lucius sauntering into the library. As he always did, Lucius attracted the attention of all the witches around him. Even Narcissa had to admit he was one good looking wizard, although unfortunately he also had an ego the size of a quidditch pitch. However, following their dance at the Parkinsons party over Christmas, Lucius had been making very obvious moves on Narcissa, and it would seem today was going to be no different as he ignored the longing looks other girls were giving him and sauntered over to where Narcissa was sitting.

"Hello, beautiful," he purred, settling down in the chair opposite Narcissa.

"Lucius," Narcissa greeted with a nod, not looking up from her homework.

"I can give you a hand if you're struggling," Lucius offered magnanimously.

"And why would I be struggling?" Narcissa asked, looking up at Lucius, her bright blue eyes blazing with annoyance.

Narcissa knew a lot of pureblood witches didn't really bother with their studies as fate had already decreed that all their future was going to hold was marrying some pureblood wizard and having children to carry on the family lines, but she wasn't like that. She knew her life was pretty much destined to go down the same route, but that didn't mean she was going to neglect her school work. Narcissa was incredibly smart and she actually enjoyed school, so even though a career probably wasn't on the cards for her, she was still going to get the best education she could.

"Well," She demanded when Lucius didn't answer. "Do you think because I'm a girl, I'm stupid?"

"Of course not," Lucius replied with a dazzling smile. "I'm sure you're very clever, Narcissa."

"Clever enough not to fall for your charms," Narcissa said with a smirk. "I know your reputation, Lucius. I will not become another notch on your bedpost."

"I've changed," Lucius said sincerely.

"After one dance?" Narcissa asked with a laugh.

"What can I say, you've captivated me," Lucius replied, giving Narcissa his best seductive look.

Narcissa rolled her eyes at Lucius as she slid her books into her bag. "Nice try, but I'm not some insipid witch you can charm into bed. I'm not that sort of girl."

"And I'm not the sort of man that gives up easily," Lucius retorted as Narcissa finished packing her bag and got to her feet. "I'm not the wizard you think I am, Narcissa."

"You're exactly the person I think you are," Narcissa said with a chuckle as she gave Lucius one last smile and headed towards the door of the library.

"This isn't over, Narcissa," Lucius called after her. "I'm a changed man."

"Prove it," Narcissa shot back, before leaving the library without a second glance at Lucius.

 _ **T.M.C.**_

For a while Narcissa didn't think about her conversation with Lucius, but all too soon she couldn't ignore the changes in the blond wizard. In fact it was all the students could talk about. Overnight, it seemed as though Lucius was blind where other witches were concerned. His flirting had abruptly stopped, and it was common knowledge around Hogwarts that he knocked back any witch who made advances to him.

"Word is he's saving himself for a certain witch," Rosalie, one of Narcissa's closest friends whispered during a quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

"He's hardly saved himself, he's no virgin," Narcissa responded, watching as the man in questions soared around the pitch, seemingly scoring goals at random.

"Who wants a virgin?" Rosalie snorted. "Surely you want a man who knows what he's doing when you go to bed with him."

"I am not going to bed with Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa said loudly, causing a few people to turn around and stare at her.

"Pity, I hear he's rather impressive," Rosalie teased, also turning her attention to where Lucius was showing off just how skilled he was at quidditch. "Or at least he was, before he became a born again virgin in order to impress you."

"Giving up other witches is not impressive," Narcissa argued.

"It is when it's Lucius Malfoy doing the giving up," Rosalie retorted. "Let's face it Narcissa, the man was born for seduction. Surely there's some small part of you that appreciates the lengths he's going to just to win you over. He's never tried this hard to win any other witch over."

"That's because every other witch just falls at his feet," Narcissa replied with a shrug. "He only wants me because he can't have me."

"If you're going to keep saying no, send him my way," Rosalie said, just as the Slytherins around them jumped up to celebrate yet another goal from Lucius. "I won't say no to a bit of Lucius Malfoy."

Despite herself, Narcissa felt a stab of jealousy when she heard her closest friend expressing an interest in Lucius. The thought of Lucius with Rosalie made Narcissa's stomach turn, so maybe she wasn't as immune to Lucius's charms as she claimed. Although, that certainly didn't mean that she was willing to give in just yet. So far, Lucius was certainly impressing her with his focus, but he would have to do a lot more than just ignore other witches for a few months if he wanted to bag a date with Narcissa.

 _ **T.M.C.**_

By Easter, Lucius was beginning to think turning over a new leaf hadn't had any effect on Narcissa. Since Christmas he'd hadn't been with another witch, but yet still Narcissa was cool when he approached her. It would appear that changing his womanising ways was having no effect on the one witch who failed to be bowled over by his charm.

"Maybe it's time I gave up," Lucius muttered to his friend, Rupert, as they sat down beside the Black Lake.

"What happened to Narcissa being the most stunning witch you've ever met, and you were going to do anything to make her yours?" Rupert asked.

"I underestimated how stubborn she was," Lucius grouched. "Try as I might, she's not budging. Maybe it's time I faced facts. She just doesn't like me."

"Wow, I never took you as a quitter," an amused voice said from behind the two boys.

Lucius and Rupert both whirled round to find Narcissa standing nearby, leaning against a tree.

"How long have you been there?" Lucius asked as Rupert made his excuses and left the pair of them alone.

"Long enough," Narcissa replied. "It's such a shame, just when I was warming to you, it turns out you have no stamina."

"I have plenty of stamina," Lucius said with a cheeky grin. "If only you would care to find out."

"I'm on about stamina outside of the bedroom," Narcissa remarked. "You might be impressive in the bedroom, but clearly you can't cope without sex."

"I can cope without sex," Lucius protested. "For the right witch of course," he added with a meaningful look.

"I guess you have been pretty dedicated," Narcissa conceded. "I'll do you a deal Lucius. Carry on your good behaviour until the end of the year, and I'll allow you to take me on a date over the summer."

"The end of the year?" Lucius questioned with wide eyes.

"What? Can't cope?" Narcissa asked with an amused smirk. "If this is genuine Lucius, and you really want me, this won't be an issue. After all, even if you get me, you won't be getting me into bed anytime soon. I have no intention of sleeping with someone I'm not serious about. The question is, what's more important to you, me or sex?"

"You," Lucius replied without hesitation. "I want you, Narcissa."

Narcissa smiled and leant forward and brushed her lips against Lucius's cheek. "Keep this up and you just might get me at the end of the year," She whispered, before turning and walking away from a stunned, but thrilled Lucius.

It had worked, he'd finally gotten a date with Narcissa. Although, he did have to get through to the end of the year before he got his reward. He just hoped Narcissa was worth it, but something told him she was. Something told him he was on the verge of something special, and that Narcissa was worth all the effort he'd gone to this year. Now he just had to make sure that now he had Narcissa, he never let her go. She was his future, he was sure of that.


	7. First Date

**First Date.**

Narcissa got ready for her date, studiously ignoring her eldest sister lounging on her bed. Bellatrix had been bugging her all morning, but Narcissa was not rising to the bait. She knew her older sister well enough to know she was just waiting for a reaction, and since their other sister, Andromeda had just abandoned her family for the sake of a muggleborn, Narcissa was the only one left for Bellatrix to torment.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Narcissa asked as Bellatrix let out another long, dramatic sigh.

"Not today," Bellatrix returned with a smirk. "Rodolphus is busy with his oaf of a brother."

"That's no way to talk about your future brother-in-law," Narcissa chastised.

"Rabastan is an oaf," Bellatrix snorted. "Not that Rodolphus is much better, but I can think of worse husbands to have."

"Don't you want to marry for love, Bella?" Narcissa asked, turning to face her sister, a serious expression on her face. "Don't you envy Andie for following her heart for the man she loves?"

"Andromeda is a fool," Bellatrix snarled. "She's given up everything for a mudblood. So no, I don't envy her in the slightest."

"And what about love?" Narcissa pressed. She would never admit it, but she did envy Andromeda and the bravery she'd shown in following her heart, despite the heavy price she'd paid for doing so.

"Love is overrated," Bellatrix snorted inelegantly. "Don't be fooled by love, Narcissa. Love fades, and then you're stuck with someone you can't abide. It's best to seek a marriage based on blood status and what it can give you. If you do that, you go into things with a clear vision of the future, and you're never left with a broken heart."

"I think that's a terribly sad way to look at things," Narcissa said softly. "I'm hoping for love in my marriage."

"Is that why you're going on a date with Lucius Malfoy?" Bellatrix asked with a laugh. "Because you love him?"

"I do not love Lucius, I barely know him," Narcissa argued. "However, there is a spark between us and I know he really likes me."

"From what I hear, Lucius likes any witch with a pulse," Bellatrix said. "He's certainly not the sort of wizard you fall in love with, Cissy. You have passionate affairs with wizards like Malfoy, you don't give your heart to them."

"I am not giving my heart to him," Narcissa argued. "Nor am I having a passionate affair with him. We like each other, and we're just going to see what happens."

"I can tell you what happens if you continue seeing him. He breaks your heart," Bellatrix predicted. "I love you Cissy, but you're too weak to handle a man like Malfoy. I can tell you one thing, he's not the knight in shining armour you're waiting for. He's not the faithful, loving husband type."

"For Merlin's sake Bella, it's one date, our first date at that," Narcissa protested. "I am not going to marry the man today. Nor am I going to lose my heart to him."

"Make sure you don't," Bellatrix said as she rose from Narcissa's bed and headed towards the bedroom door. "You can do better than Lucius bloody Malfoy."

"And you can do better than Rodolphus Lestrange," Narcissa countered.

"I know I can, but I also know I can twist Rodolphus round my little finger. He's the perfect husband for me," Bellatrix replied with a devious grin.

Narcissa shook her head at her sister as she left her to finish getting ready for her date. For someone so young, Bellatrix was already so cynical and Narcissa didn't want to end up like that herself. She knew she wasn't going to run off like Andromeda had done, but she still had high hopes for finding love. Maybe Lucius would be the one, or maybe he wouldn't, she would just have to wait and see what unfolded following her date with Lucius.

Narcissa had to admit she was still pretty impressed that Lucius had managed to get to the point where she'd granted him a date. Even when she'd promised him a date if he got to the end of the year without sleeping with another witch, she didn't really think he would manage it. But here she was preparing to go out with him for the afternoon, and to the best of her knowledge he hadn't even looked at another witch since Christmas.

The sound of the doorbell pulled Narcissa from her musings. Grabbing her bag, she took a moment to check she looked okay before she left her bedroom and calmly walked downstairs to greet her date. When she arrived in the front hallway, she found Bellatrix chatting to Lucius. At first Narcissa thought Bellatrix was playing the protective big sister and warning Lucius off, but then she realised her older sister was flirting with the sexy blond Slytherin. However, Lucius didn't seem to be responding, and the second he spotted Narcissa, all his attention turned to her and Bellatrix was left hanging.

"You look lovely, Narcissa," Lucius said sincerely, smiling at his date.

"Thank you," Narcissa replied, returning his smile. "Shall we go?"

"Let's," Lucius replied.

"Goodbye, Bella," Narcissa said as she bypassed her sister and opened the front door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Bellatrix called after the pair, quickly forgetting about the way Lucius had ignored her blatant flirting.

"The world's our oyster then, as there's not much you wouldn't do," Narcissa shot back at her sister.

Bellatrix gave a throaty laugh as she told the pair to have fun and shut the door behind them. Outside in the front garden, Narcissa turned to Lucius and asked where they were going. They'd agreed to an afternoon date as Narcissa still wasn't of age and she wasn't sure her parents would agree to her going out on an evening. As it was they'd been thrilled with the news she was going out on a date with a Malfoy, and Narcissa suspected they would have even given her permission to spend the night with Lucius if it was what she wanted.

"It's a surprise," Lucius replied with a grin as he held out his hand for Narcissa. "I've got a port key to take us to our destination."

Wondering what Lucius had in store for them, Narcissa took hold of his hand and let him sort the portkey. Within seconds she found herself falling through a vortex and it took all her years' experience of travelling in such a manner to keep herself on her feet when they landed. Beside her, Lucius landed with grace and he tucked the golden coin he'd used as a portkey into his pocket.

"Here we are," he declared with a sweeping gesture towards an elaborate picnic spread.

A large gingham blanket was spread over the ground with a picnic basket and all sorts of culinary delights spread over the blanket. Cushions were scattered around the blanket for somewhere to sit or lie. Not far from the blanket was a serene lake with a couple of swans swimming around, and turning around Narcissa spotted a beautiful manor house in the distance behind them. Between them and the manor house was plenty of lush grass, a gazebo, a maze and some gardens with dozens of colours and varieties of roses.

"This is your house, isn't it?" Narcissa asked, trying not to be too overwhelmed by the sight that greeted her. As a Black she wasn't exactly poor and her family lived in a decent size house, but she was only just realising it paled in comparison to the wealth of the Malfoys.

"This is Malfoy Manor," Lucius confirmed, the pride evident in his voice.

"Where we're standing is part of your property?" Narcissa checked.

"It is," Lucius replied with a nod. "The manor has considerable size grounds, so I thought it would be a perfect place for our first date."

"First date? What makes you think there's going to be anymore?" Narcissa teased.

"I'm an optimist," Lucius replied with a grin. "Would you care to sit down? I wasn't sure what you liked, so I had the elves provide a bit of everything."

"It looks wonderful," Narcissa said as she settled herself down on some of the cushions beside the picnic.

Lucius settled himself down next to her, and the pair dug into the feast the Malfoy house elves had provided. As they did so they talked and got to know one another. Narcissa found Lucius to be quite humorous when he was relaxed and several times he made her laugh out loud at a story he told. As for Lucius, he was even more charmed by Narcissa as she still didn't fawn all over him. She was a challenge, and even though they were getting along splendidly, he knew she wasn't going to be the type to fall into his bed after a few dates.

"How are you coping with the lack of sex?" Narcissa asked as they lay side by side on the cushions, staring up at the blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

"I won't lie, I miss it like crazy," Lucius replied, propping himself up on his elbow and gazing down at Narcissa. "But I happen to think you're worth it."

"Why?" Narcissa asked. "When you can have any witch you want, why do you want me?"

"I take it you want something more than you're the most beautiful witch I've ever set eyes on," Lucius joked.

"A real reason would be nice," Narcissa said with a smile. "Although I'm very flattered you think I'm so attractive."

"Maybe at first, it was partly because you didn't fall at my feet," Lucius admitted. "I've never met anyone like you, Narcissa. Not only are you beautiful, but you're smart and funny. And I know that you're here with me, because you genuinely like me. You're not bowled over by my looks, or my fortune."

"How do you know? I might be a gold-digger," Narcissa teased with a laugh.

"If all you were interested in was my money, you wouldn't have refused me so many time," Lucius replied. "Besides, as a Black, you're not exactly poor."

"I'm not," Narcissa agreed. It was clear that the Blacks weren't in the Malfoys league when it came to money, but they were still one of the wealthiest families in the country and marrying for money wasn't a necessity for Narcissa. "But it could have been a crafty plan to trick you into trusting me."

"I don't think so," Lucius laughed. "A far safer plan would have been to say yes the first time I asked you out, and then held onto me. By turning me down, you risked me losing interest and walking away."

"And if you'd done that I would have known that you only wanted me for one thing," Narcissa said.

"And what makes you think I still don't want you for that?" Lucius asked, leaning right over Narcissa so that their lips were very nearly touching.

"I'm sure you do," Narcissa replied softly. "But if that was all you wanted, you would have walked away months ago."

"I'm not sure I could have," Lucius said sincerely, losing himself in Narcissa's bright blue eyes. "No man in their right mind would walk away from you."

"You know just the right thing to say to charm a girl, Lucius," Narcissa said with a chuckle as she leant up over so slightly and pressed her lips against his.

Lucius was overcome with the urge to deepen the kiss, but he controlled himself and let her control the kiss. When they broke apart, Narcissa was smiling up at him, and he knew he'd made the right call in letting her take the lead. It wasn't going to be easy, but for once he was happy to sit back and let Narcissa call the shots. They could take things at whatever pace she wanted. As long as she agreed to keep seeing him, he was a happy man.


	8. Part of the Family

**Part of the Family.**

Lucius arrived home from work to find his wife settled in the sun room at the back of the manor, sipping a cup of tea. The back wall of the room was completely made of glass, offering stunning views of the manor's gardens. Glancing outside as he greeted his wife, Lucius spotted the figures of Draco and Blaise flying around on their broomsticks.

"It looks like the boys are having fun," Lucius remarked, sitting down next to his wife.

"They are," Narcissa confirmed with a nod of the head. "Blaise had a letter from his mother today."

"She finally remembered him, did she?" Lucius snorted.

Blaise's mother rarely bothered with her son, and Blaise had been at Malfoy Manor since the first week of the summer holidays with no word from his mother. It hadn't bothered Blaise until the previous week when his Hogwarts letter had arrived, along with a form that needed his mother's signature to allow him to go down to Hogsmeade village now he was entering his third year. Blaise had sent the form off to his mother, along with a request for money to buy his new school supplies, and he'd been anxiously waiting for her response ever since.

"I hope she sent Blaise's Hogsmeade form back," Lucius continued. "Because if she hasn't, I'll forge her damn signature myself."

"She sent it back," Narcissa replied. "She also sent some money, but it's not going to be enough to pay for everything Blaise needs. He's a growing boy, and like Draco he's shot up in the last year. They're both going to need an entire new uniform and robes. Then there's the books and other supplies. The money Blaise's mother has sent won't even buy half of what he needs. Not unless he's going to go second hand."

"Over my dead body," Lucius snarled. "He's not a Weasley. There will be no second hand books and hand me down robes for Blaise. He's like a part of this family, and I will not see him go without."

"So what do you suggest?" Narcissa asked. She had a suspicion her husband had come to the same conclusion she had when she'd seen the pitiful amount of money Blaise's mother had sent him.

"We'll buy him everything he needs," Lucius said. "That way he can keep the money his mother sent him for when he visits Hogsmeade."

"It won't be cheap buying supplies for two boys," Narcissa pointed out, although she wouldn't have it any other way and she was proud of her husband for his devotion to Blaise.

"We can afford it, Narcissa," Lucius replied with a snort. "And don't tell me you hadn't already decided we would foot the bill for Blaise, because I know you too well."

"Fine," Narcissa said with a soft smile. "I'd already decided that we would sort Blaise out for the coming year. I was just hoping that you would be on the same page."

"Aren't we always?" Lucius questioned, sharing a smile with his wife. One of the reasons their marriage worked so well was the fact they always agreed on the big things in life.

"I suppose we are," Narcissa returned. "Who's going to tell Blaise? He's already looking forward to going to Diagon Alley to get his stuff."

"We can tell him over dinner," Lucius said. "He won't think of it as charity, will he?"

"I don't think so," Narcissa replied. "We've bought things for him before."

"Yeah, the odd present and such," Lucius said. "But this is very different."

"It just shows him that he's well and truly part of the family," Narcissa argued. "He is part of the family, isn't he?"

"He is," Lucius confirmed. "And it's time to show him how much he means to us. This is the first step to truly welcoming him to the family."

Fortunately the couple's worries about Blaise taking the news the wrong way were unfounded, and rather than viewing the offer to pay for his school stuff as charity, Blaise was blown away by the generosity of his best friend's parents. He'd never had anyone who had truly cared for him the way the Malfoys did, and he was just grateful to finally have a family. After all, his own mother flitted in and out of his life and he'd never once been her first priority.

"So when can we go to Diagon Alley?" Blaise asked eagerly.

"Tomorrow," Lucius suggested. "And if the two of you are very good, I might treat you in the quidditch shop."

"With a new Firebolt?" Draco questioned, his grey eyes widening with excitement.

"Didn't I just buy you a new broom last year?" Lucius questioned his son. "And the rest of the Slytherin team come to that."

"But the Firebolt is way better than any other brooms, all the magazines say so," Draco enthused. "And you just know Potter will have one."

"You want a new broom to compete with another boy?" Narcissa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Firstly, Potter isn't just another boy," Draco argued. "He's a thorn in my bloody side."

"No swearing Draco," Narcissa scolded.

"Sorry," Draco muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"So you want to beat your rival," Lucius said, fully understanding where his son was coming from.

"If you want to call Potter my rival," Draco said with a shrug. "Personally, I don't think he's worthy of that title. A rival has to actually compete with you, and Potter can't compete with me. I'm far superior to him in every way."

"Not to mention, modest," Narcissa said with a sigh. She could see so much of Lucius in their son, including his formidable seized ego.

"Draco's true rival is Granger," Blaise supplied. "Now she can compete with him."

"No she cannot," Draco argued. "She can't fly to save her life."

"Okay, so she has one weakness," Blaise chuckled. "But in every other way she's more of your rival than Potter. You never know Draco, maybe one day you'll beat her in a test."

"I'm not holding my breath," Draco muttered.

"Maybe you'll see Granger in Diagon Alley tomorrow," Blaise said to his best friend.

"Why would I want to see her?" Draco questioned.

"You know why," Blaise teased with a sly smile, which caused Draco to frown at his best friend.

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged an amused look, remembering the previous summer and the small crush Lucius had noticed. It would seem that Draco's crush hadn't quite elapsed and he still had conflicting feelings for the feisty little Gryffindor who had the audacity to be smarter than him and beat him in every class.

"So can we really get new brooms?" Draco asked Lucius, turning the conversation back to something less embarrassing.

"I never said new brooms," Lucius argued. "I said I might treat you to something in the quidditch shop. Let's see what tomorrow brings, shall we?"

"I guess we'll have to," Draco said, exchanging a sly smirk with Blaise. He was still determined to get his new broom, and he was sure if he and Blaise got together they could charm his father into submission.

"They're going to get those brooms, aren't they?" Narcissa whispered to her husband as they left the dining room after dinner.

"What makes you think that?" Lucius questioned.

"I know you too well, Lucius," Narcissa chuckled. "You're tough on the outside, but deep down you're a soft touch. Come tomorrow those boys will have new brooms and who knows what else."

"If I can't spoil my family, who can I spoil?" Lucius replied with a knowing smile.

"Just remember your wife when you're doing the spoiling," Narcissa teased.

"I never forget you, Cissa," Lucius said, smiling affectionately at his wife, before they headed into the front room and joined the boys.

Sure enough the next day both Draco and Blaise returned from Diagon Alley with new broomsticks, along with all their school supplies, new uniforms and robes and a few other treats. Lucius hadn't forgotten his wife in his spending spree, and she got a new necklace and a saucy lingerie set the couple made good use of that very evening. It was good to spoil the family occasionally, and Lucius didn't regret spoiling his family, which consisted of Draco, Narcissa and Blaise.


End file.
